Gluten Free Quiche Lorraine

Quiche is one of those foods that we always forget how much we enjoy until eating it. All it takes is one bite of that rich, custardy filling sitting on top of a flaky piecrust and we’re sold. Why bother eating anything else? What’s not to love about bite sized bits of bacon, cheese, and onion.

When it comes to savory tarts – Quiche Lorraine cannot be beat.

Many people are intimidated by the thought of making their own pie crust from home, but we promise it’s not hard at all! The key to achieving the perfect, flaky base is to keep it cold. Freeze your butter before you begin and use a box grater as you would with cheese to grate flakes of butter over the flour. This will speed up the amount of time it will take you to mix your butter and flour together. The faster the butter is incorporated, the less it melts while mixing. For a flaky crust, you really want your butter to melt in the dough while baking in the oven and not while mixing on your counter top.

You also want to make sure that you take the time to pre bake your pie crust before adding the custard filling. This is known as a blind bake. After you blind bake your pie crust you also need make sure you allow it to cool down. This will prevent the filling from soaking into the bottom of the crust leaving you with a soggy bottom. Let cool for at least 10 minutes, but longer if you can.

In essence, quiche is a simple dish requiring simple ingredients that you probably already have on hand: eggs, milk, butter, and flour. While the time it takes to make your own quiche from scratch may seem like it will be a lot of work, it really takes no effort at all.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crispy. Transfer the bacon to a plate and set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle chop into bite sized pieces.

Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat from the skillet. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent (about 5 minutes)

In a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, half and half, nutmeg, mustard, salt and pepper. Mix in the grated cheese and ¾ of the bacon.

Sprinkle the remaining ¼ of the bacon over the bottom of the pie shell. Pour the egg filling over the top.

Bake at 350°F/180°C for 35-40 minutes or until the center is set and golden brown. It should jiggle just slightly.

Let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve alongside a simple green salad and enjoy!

The Pastry:

Place flour, salt, and xanthan gum in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Using a box grater, grate your cold butter, just like would with cheese, over the flour mixture. Toss and coat the grated butter with flour until it is evenly distributed.

Pour in 1 tablespoon of ice cold water at a time over the flour. Use a fork to mix until the dough starts coming together.

Form the dough into a disc and wrap it in cling wrap. Place it in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

After the dough has chilled in the refrigerator preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C .

Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, lightly flour the bottom piece, and roll it out until it’s large enough to fit a 9in / 23 cm quiche pan with a loose bottom.

Transfer the dough to the quiche pan, pressing the dough into the sides and bottom. Cut away excess dough hanging over the sides. Using a fork, prick all across the bottom of the pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the bottom is slightly golden. Remove from the oven (leave it on) and let cool while making the filling.

Tips

Leave your butter in the freezer for about 10 minutes before making the pie crust.